Kuruk cackled, thoroughly enjoying himself. Noriko had discarded the kimono and wore bandages around her chest and a thin white wrap around skirt. Where she'd found that he didn't know. Unlike Sargo and Ta'ryn, the white yautja was chuckling and playing with his mate. Much to her ire.
"Hold still so I can break your neck!"
"Catch me." Kuruk teased her, side stepping another attempt to bring the edge of her hand to his trachea. Noriko managed to fall onto her hands and snap her legs up to aim for his face. Kuruk simply placed his palm to her ankles and controlled her flip. As she continued to her feet and lifted to stand, he walked with her flip, pivoted to turn his hips and extend his palm to push her stomach. Noriko yelped, startled and he made her stumble to get her balance again. Kuruk didn't hurt her, but he seriously pissed her off. "You look so cute when you're face turns red r'ka."
"Stop…calling me…that!" Noriko screamed and launched at him again.
Not five strides away from them, Sargo had Toni on her knees, his knees at either side of hers as he held her from behind. His arms looped under hers and his hands locked together behind her head.
"Now will you please calm down?"
"Fuck off." She hissed and she flung her arms back to try and claw at his face. Sargo adjusted his hold to spread her shoulders and arch her back, so she couldn't reach him. She winced, so bruised and battered that this stretching was causing a lot of pain. "Son of a bitch!"
"As soon as you calm down, we can stop sparing and talk."
"Sparing!?" She screamed. Toni wasn't sparing. She was fighting for her life.
Thud.
Right in front of her Bonnie landed on her back and exhaled with a rasp.
"…mother…fucker…" She rolled onto her front and dizzily looked up to see Toni. "…oh hi…"
"…" Toni groaned as here arms were held at that awful angle behind her back.
"…come here often?" Bonnie sniggered and wheezed, crawling to her knees. "I do…I seem to fucking live here."
"Little…busy right now…Bonnie." Toni strained, trying to find a way to slip the arm lock. Sargo was ridiculously strong, in her opinion. Bonnie wobbled to her feet and took a step towards her.
"Wanna hand?" She stammered and swayed over, fists raised and perfectly ready to punch Sargo in his face.
"Look out!" Toni hissed and nodded to the side. Bonnie blinked her blue eyes and turned barely in time to see Ta'ryn launch at her.
"Fuck!" She brought her fists up, but it did no good. Ta'ryn spear tackled her to the ground, and if he didn't have hold of the back of her head, she would have surely shattered her skull with the impact.
"Bonnie…" Toni hissed and thrashed as hard as she could.
"Give up Toni. You're not going anywhere. I've got you. Submit right now before-"
The hander doors opened and the sound of metal boots against the dock floor reverberated through their hearts. "…oh no…"
Walking towards them in all his glory was an Arbitrator. Bonnie looked up from her front being pressed into the metal floor and blinked through the haze of her brain being rattled in her head at him.
He had skin like a crocodile. So dark green and mottled. Silver Awu'asa with so many knicks and dints that it was clear that he'd been through many battles. He walked with grace and oozed with confidence. The air seemed to drop several degrees in his presence, and all the humans felt like a true apex predator had wondered into their sheep pen. A silvery blue wrap round skirt and cape billowed behind him. He walked with a ceremonial staff, showing his rank, but by no means did he need it to walk. A sharp naginata blade ordained the top, and small skulls and fangs dangled at the base of it. The staff was silver, like his armour. He wore no mask, and his long black dreads swayed half way down his back with silver bolts here and there. they were ornate, with delicate carved runes in them. He had paler green skin over his neck and torso, as well as his palms and probably the soles of his feet. His bright yellow eyes gleamed with authority as he marched over to stand in front of the three pairs. He banged his staff on the floor once, and the three yautja scrambled to drag themselves and their mates to stand before him.
"C'jit. Bonnie, under no circumstances to you say anything. You'll get your throat slit before you can blink. Silent. I mean it." The only thing that scared Bonnie more than this Arbitrator's appearance, was the fear in Ta'ryn's voice. Even Kuruk seemed very tense. Something inherent in the three human women told them not to resist their mate's plea to stand still and obediently before the Arbitrator.
"Your grace." Sargo spoke and bowed his head low. All three yautja did this, and they used their hands to push the human women to do the same. Again, they didn't resist.
"I am Arbitrator Jaavik of the high council. You have broken several clan laws by fighting in an undesignated area."
"Yes your grace." Ta'ryn spoke, keeping his hands on Bonnie's shoulders and his eyes cast down.
"In the docks by the scout shuttles of all places? Curious?" With a flutter of his silvery blue cape he lifted his left hand up and flicked his bracer open. "The security log shows that there were several more of you at the beginning of the altercation, but you three remained behind."
"Yes your grace." Kuruk answered.
"Your mates appear to be the instigators." Jaavik declared with an aloof sneer. "The others were able to subdue their mates to see reason. And yet these three made a challenge?"
Funnily enough…no one answered him. "It is a great honour to be allowed the privilege of a mate. Many hundreds of thousands would gladly take your places. Are you so incapable of controlling your mates that they defy you so openly?" Again, no answer. "If your mates resist you because they find you to be unworthy, others could be selected for them. Mates capable of exerting a firmer hand? If they are still unbonded, of course."
All the women tensed, and Bonnie gasped audibly. Shit. He's taking about finding three new arseholes to replace them as our 'mates'. Firmer hand? He means bigger fucktards than…Bonnie gulped. She saw a flash of a memory. Ta'ryn holding her hair as she barfed. Holding a cup of water to her lips. Chatting with her over the tablet about the clan. "Or is it the Oomans that are being unreasonable?" Bonnie's heart was not the only one that plummeted to her stomach. "I could have them returned to the proving grounds before the end of the day. If they survive long enough they can be sorted to another potential match. You have all proved yourselves in the proving. You could have new, more reasonable mates selected for you?" shit shit shit! Bonnie gulped.
"Your grace?" Ta'ryn slowly lifted his head up to look at the Arbitrator. "I am very happy my with mate. We…got carried away sparing. I will take the punishment for Bonnie. She doesn't know better. I do. This is my fault."
"And mine." Sargo spoke up. "I got swept up in the moment."
"As did I." Kuruk also lifted his head. "I got too excited by Noriko's challenge. I accept the consequences for my actions your grace."
"Oh I see?" Jaavik chuckled and inclined his head as he scanned his yellow eyes across the very pale looking Oomans. "So to be clear? All the fault is yours, not your Ooman mates, and you will all take the punishment for breaking our clan laws? No matter the punishment I choose?" The yautja all nodded and braced themselves. "I should think your three are very lucky, to have mates willing to lie to an Arbitrator and take an unspecified punishment in your behalf."
His smooth voice cut them all deeply. Noriko forgot to breathe, and Toni swayed in Sargo's arms. "I have the perfect idea for your punishment. For all of you." Jaavik chuckled darkly. "Clan Raacnol has developed something called 'intimacy collars'. It seems to have done wonders to promote successful breeding pairs after their bride trails."
"Your grace?!" Kuruk had never sounded so worried before. Jaavik banged his staff, and the white yautja snapped his head back down.
"You will all report in the morning to the med labs to have them installed. You will both wear collars that will prevent you from being out of close proximity to your mate." Bonnie whimpered, and noticed how Ta'ryn gave her bruised shoulders a comforting squeeze. "If you try to go out of this proximity, you will both feel excruciating pain. Being so close, you will be forced to keep an eye on each other, so this never happens again…" The Arbitrator was clearly referring to the escape attempt. "…and living in each other's laps will promote romantic and intimate experiences for you both." Jaavik smirked and raised a brow at how pale the yautja suddenly looked. "If you don't report to have your intimacy collars installed, I will send the Oomans back to the proving planet and you will all receive new mates. Am I understood?"
"Yes your grace." The yautja all chorused together.
"Good." Jaavik turned with a flare of his cape and then looked over his shoulder at their knelt forms. "…if only you'd have calmed down and left with your mates like the others did? Then you would have avoided my acute attention. I will be watching you three couples intently from now on. I look forward to hearing news of your upcoming pregnancies."
He walked out of the hanger bay and left the three couples to all exhale deeply and flounder.
"I-I can't wear a fucking collar!"
"Yes you will." Kuruk snapped, not his usual playful self. "We both will. Oh, and before you even think about it? Those intimacy collars are no joke. They even monitor our vitals." He gripped her bicep and snarled at her. "I you harm me, you will feel the same pain. If you kill me, you will be killed by electric shock. Do you understand? the severity of what you've done?"
"Oh shit." Noriko groaned.
"Damn it Toni." Sargo walked away from her and exhaled deeply. "I thought he was going to send you back to the planet. I was so worried." He took a deep breath and reached for her. "Come on. You must be sore. Let me help you."
"No thanks." She hissed and started limping on her own towards the hanger door. "I'll enjoy my last moments of distance, thank you."
"Bonnie?" Ta'ryn saw the pensive look on Bonnie's face and lifted her chin to examine her bloody face. "I…I'm sorry about hurting you. I was trying to restrain you. I'll tend to those wounds when we get home."
"Why?" Bonnie turned and looked up at him, tears in her eyes. Ta'ryn groaned. He really didn't have the energy to fight with her anymore today. "You could have gotten rid of me, and you didn't." He blinked, having not expected that. "You could have sent my ass back to the jungle planet and tried your luck with another woman who didn't fight you so much. That was your chance…"
Toni and Noriko stared. Bonnie was…crying. "You could have…you lied to protect me from…you didn't even know what he was going to do to me. And you…you offered to…why? Why?!" She screamed as she cried, banging her fists on his chest. "Why would you do that?!"
"Because you are my mate." Ta'ryn held her wrists and held her steady. "You're not just a walking baby maker. You, with time, will be my partner. My companion. The mother of my children. I wouldn't fight so hard to win you, and to keep you, if I didn't care about what happens to you." Ta'ryn sighed and drew Bonnie to his chest as she trembled with angry hot tears. "If you were sent back, you could die next time. Or you could be selected again and the next guy might not…care as much as I do." He chuckled and stoked the back of her hair. "If anything I think we got off easy." Bonnie scoffed and rubbed her eyes with the back of her arm.
"Yeah you say that now. Just you wait until you have my annoying ass stuck to you 24/7."
"I'm sure I'll be fine." Ta'ryn chuckled and rested his hands on her shoulders. He lifted his yellow eyes up to see that Noriko and Toni's shoulders had drooped, and they also seemed to be looking at their mates with reluctant appreciation.
"How close will we be anyway?" Bonnie sniffled and took a step towards the doors. Ta'ryn hovered his hand behind her back, as she still limped and was likely quite bruised. If she fell, he was ready to catch her.
"I'm not sure."
"Very close." Kuruk answered, and the 6 of them walked together out of the hanger. "From what I've heard you basically have to share the same room at all times."
"Wait, at all times?" Toni winced and begrudgingly let Sargo lift her up into his arms. she ached too much to protest. Besides? They were about to be very close, for an undetermined amount of time.
"Including when we sleep, piss and shower?" Noriko made Kuruk chuckle, and he nodded to her. "Ah crap."
"Well shit. I snore." Bonnie nodded up at Ta'ryn.
"I know." He chuckled at her. "I can hear you across the apartment. It will make no difference to me if you're snoring beside me, with how loud you are."
"Hay!" Bonnie sulked. "…not that loud."
"Yeah you are." Toni jeered. "We all slept in the RV remember? You made the windows rattle."
"Shut up!"
They bickered and teased each other, sore and worried about the following morning, but relieved that no one was being locked up, killed, sent back to the proving grounds, or given new mates.
Jaavik watched on his tablet, tracking them as they returned to their private quarters. He smirked, very proud of himself.
"Dresk will be so proud of me. I can't wait to tell him."